Part 5/8:
After World War II, the UN proposed a partition plan for Palestine, designating separate Jewish and Arab states. This plan, however, was rejected by Arab nations. In 1948, as British forces withdrew, Israel declared independence. This declaration sparked the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, involving five Arab nations seeking to establish a unified Palestine. The war resulted in Israel securing significant territory, causing the displacement of over 750,000 Palestinians—an event they call al-Nakba, meaning "the catastrophe."
Rising tensions continued through subsequent decades, highlighted by the 1967 Six-Day War, where Israel gained control over key territories including East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza.